I am something you all know well
Some of you can’t function with me
and some of you can’t focus without me

I am a small, timid thing
Easily spooked, should you make a sound
and always flitting from place to place

I am the moment when realization sinks in
When the doors stop slamming
and the heat fueling your anger no longer burns

I am the moment when fresh snow blankets the ground
When the sun shines, but never warms
and birdsong is lost to the early morning breeze

I am the moment when you’re alone in bed
When the world around you sleeps
and you’re too old for the shadows to be scary

I am something that’s never heard, never seen, and never felt
simply experienced
I am silence

- t.h.